Knock, knock! Terror on the door again
The recent attacks in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Parachinar, and very recently the shrine of sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar at Sehwan have claimed over approximately 150 lives, leaving several hundreds injured
Well as they say, if opportunity does not knock, build a door. This is precisely what the thought to-be dead insurgents appear to have done with their recent attempts to make a comeback, and have their presence felt by the government, the state, and the nation at large. The militant groups, with their recent strikes across the mainstream cities, have re-asserted not just their ruled out existence, but their capability to strike our urban portions upon their will, and cause considerable damage in the form of innocent lives lost.
The reality of terror network is ugly and terrifying, especially after its recurrence.
The recent attacks in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Parachinar, and very recently the shrine of sufi saint LalShahbazQalandar at Sehwan have claimed over approximately 150 lives, leaving several hundreds injured. The responsibilities for the aforementioned attacks were claimed by banned militant outfits pledging their allegiance to the very much paralysed TTP. Jamat-ul-Ahrar took responsibility for the suicide blast in Lahore, whereas Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for the attack in Quetta. The former was also responsible for last year’s attack targeting the Christian community in Gulshan Park, Lahore.
Overwhelmed with the impression of winning over the war on terror, which is more psychological in nature than conventional, by dismantling the terror network, the nation is once again facing the security dilemma, and the national restored confidence in the security forces and their successful endeavours against terror network are once again being questioned.
The re-grouping of different insurgent factions, that too outside of the tribal areas is a harsh reminder to the state, it’s machinery, and the nation that the war is far from over, and requires undivided attention, and persistence in order to achieve absolute success.
The devil to do God’s work?
Everyone talks about doing God’s work. We hear numerous claiming to be the God’s chosen ones. Sounds fascinating! Only until one sees the devils make such claims.Almost 17 years into the war on terror, we still hear the proud roar from the self-proclaimed jihadiststo be waging war against the enemies of Muslims in the name of Allah. One wonders, however, how anyone can be doing the God’s work if he is killing innocent human beings irrespective of age, gender, race, culture, religion, and language?
In retrospect, the other side that is abstinent to act against such forces also falls in the same category, and cannot be expected to deliver any good. Governments and military coalitions around the world that are aggressively fighting the war against terrorism are also found not honouring human life, and on numerous occasions has been found guilty of causing massive collateral damage, which ultimately adds to the strength of forces of fascism.
It’s the human life that has suffered the most in this entire episode.
Pakistan’s persistence in this war on terror, despite having to bear immense losses in terms of both, lives and on the economic front, has brought us this far, and close to uprooting the menace of extremism and terrorism from our midst
In Pakistan, however, the precision of the government and security forces to target the culprits alone deserves praise, and has yielded landmark achievements in the war on terror. It is critical not just to act against terrorism, but to separate oneself from being seen as the devil.
The timing of the recent attacks is alarming, as the new US president has recently assumed office in Washington.
The hungry lion
The resolve on part of the armed forces to crush the evil of terrorism remains undeterred despite attempts by the latter to raise from the dead again. The hunger of our lions to attain complete victory in this war is certainly commendable.
In the wake of recent terror strikes, the army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa vowed to avenge the spilt blood of the innocent, and that too immediately without any further delays by uprooting the insurgent networks, wherever they maybe existing.The COAS reiterated the resolve of the security forces to operate against, and eliminate the terrorist hideouts without any differentiation.
Where the foundations of the terror network were shaken to the core by the operation Zarb-e-Azb in its bastion i.e. the tribal areas, there were speculations by security analysts that we might witness a paradigm shift, and the future can witness terrorists striking from a new home ground, and called for an operation by the security forces in Punjab, particularly the southern parts. The government, however, remained reluctant to act against the Punjabi mercenaries giving birth to the impression that the former has links with the latter, and is protecting certain banned outfits.
Now with the recent wave of bombings in three provincial capitals i.e. Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta, and their responsibility being claimed by Punjab based militant groups has proven the once falsified analysis to be true, and the government, now,has to answer tough questions, and seems to have been left with only one option, to act in Punjab.
Need of the time!
Pakistan’s persistence in this war on terror, despite having to bear immense losses in terms of both, lives and on the economic front, has brought us this far, and close to uprooting the menace of extremism and terrorism from our midst. Getting this close, we cannot afford to get carried away by our sacrifices, and successes, and must accept the bitter reality that there is a lot more required from us as a nation.
It is a need of the turbulent times that all pillars of the state i.e. the government, the security forces, the judiciary, the media and the nation stand united, and committed to our cause and vision for a secure and progressive future for Pakistan. The new sanctuaries of terrorism, now in Punjab particularly the southern regions, must be identified, and pursued by the government and the security forces to dismantle their capability to operate, and cause damage. The tools and frameworks, such as the NAP, required to achieve success are in place, and require efficient and effective implementation.
These are testing times however, with the appropriate approachwe shall overcome the turbulent tides, and indeed, prevail.
